News

The SWTOR team is excited to announce that the DirectX 12 Technical Test launches later this week! This is a major milestone for the long-term modernization of the game, and we’re looking forward to working directly with you for this critical first round of testing.

As we’ve shared in detail over the past year, the journey to a modernized SWTOR client began by reducing rendering features down to an absolute minimum in order to establish a reliable and performant baseline to build upon.

After a long road of experimentation, porting, and re-architecting we have a working version of a new, “Experimental” DirectX 12 client that we’re proud to make available to all players on the live servers for testing!

Please take a few minutes to read through this post. There are many important details about what you can expect at this stage, how to participate, and how to share feedback as we continue on this modernization journey.

Expectations for the Experimental Client

The DirectX 12 client has come a long way from the earliest versions, and visual fidelity will evolve as development continues. This initial test is primarily focused on client stability and performance across a variety of PC hardware and gameplay scenarios. Some things you may notice in the Experimental Client:

• Low-Fidelity or Missing Art: You will notice that many environmental assets and visual effects are low-fidelity or missing, and graphics options have been limited. This is intentional. This first phase is strictly about testing the engine’s core functionality, not the artwork.
• Playability: Some areas of the game may have environmental or other rendering issues that could make it difficult to progress.
• Eligibility: This test is open to all players. No sign-ups or codes are required.

How to Participate

We wanted to make participating in this test as simple as possible. You won't need to download a separate Public Test Server (PTS) client, as we’ve built the option directly into our standard launcher!

Later this week, your launcher will receive an update with a small patch, adding a client selection menu.

A new arrow icon next to the Play button allows for selection between two clients:

• DirectX 9 (Standard): This is the default option and will launch the live game exactly as you’re used to.
• DirectX 12 (Experimental): This will launch the new DX12 client.

Important! Both options connect to the same live servers. You will be playing on your actual live characters, and any progress, items earned, or changes made to your characters while using the DX12 client will persist. Should you encounter any issues with the Experimental client, you can switch back to the Standard client from the launcher at any time.

Note for Mac Players: The Mac launcher is not being updated at this time. Stay tuned for future updates about DirectX 12 testing on Macs.

What We Need You to Test and Report

For this first test, our primary focus is strictly on performance and hardware compatibility. We need to see how the rebuilt engine behaves across the variety of hardware configurations our players use every day.

All you need to do is play the game! Explore the galaxy and play as you normally would.

If you experience any stuttering, frame rate drops, graphical bugs, or hard crashes to the desktop, we want to hear about it. When reporting issues on our forums, the most valuable information you can share is:

• 1. Your system specs (specifically your CPU, GPU, and RAM).
• 2. Exactly what your character was doing when the issue occurred (e.g., "loading into a Warzone," "riding a taxi on Alderaan," etc.).

Please head over to the official forums and answer the questions pinned in our DirectX 12 Feedback Thread when it goes live.

If you encounter a crash and receive the crash reporting dialog, please submit a report! These crash reports are very helpful to us.

Looking Ahead

Opening up this technical test is a huge milestone for SWTOR, and it’s a journey that will continue well into the next year.
We will announce when the test goes live on our social channels and our Forums.

As we roll out future game updates, we will regularly update the DX12 Experimental client. Once we have confidence in the new client’s stability, our focus will shift to implementing the remaining graphical features to match the fidelity of the Standard client.
We still have a long road ahead, but we are well on our way.

Thank you so much to everyone taking the time to help us test!